How to Get Out of Debt Quickly

How to Pay Off a Five-Figure Debt in Five Months

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Don't let debt weigh heavy on you, and take inspiration from this Business Insider profile of someone who managed to lose her debt in five months.
When Kristy Heinz moved to NYC last October, she had no couch, no TV, no mattress and $19,000 in debt.

She was the poster child for cash poor: Between the time she graduated law school and started her job at a firm, she'd been living on a diet of ramen and credit swipes.

In mid-January, she threw a New Year's Eve party (BYOB, natch) a week after New Year's Eve. The savings? 90 percent on decorations at Target.

By finding free fun things to do, like picnicking in Central Park and hosting movie marathons, she continued making memories without busting her budget.

She tuned out the haters

Not everyone was thrilled with Heinz's spartan lifestyle.

"People were like, what do you mean you don't have a couch, you don't have a TV?" she says.

"I could have easily started splurging on a lot of stuff (for the new place), but I didn't want to outlive my means. By gradually buying things, I was able to surmise what my means were."

She didn't blow her tax refund

Rather than treating her tax refund like a windfall and using it to fund a Champagne-fueled cruise to Bermuda, Heinz wisely put the refund toward her two last, remaining debts: the credit card bill and her salary advance.